


Ghosts

by ProjectOrthus



Series: The Weight of Mandalore [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Ahsoka Tano - Freeform, Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Angst, Bo-Katan Kryze - Freeform, Canon Compliant, F/F, Fluff and Angst, I really don’t know how to write anything that’s not canon compliant, I should really branch out, Planet Mandalore (Star Wars), Tatooine, because that’s where they are, hi I don’t know how to use tags effectively, some action but mostly just Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:14:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29301747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProjectOrthus/pseuds/ProjectOrthus
Summary: From a bar on Naboo, Ahsoka Tano watches as Mandalore is attacked by the Empire via the HoloNet. Weeks later, she’s shocked to find Bo-Katan Kryze and her remaining Nite Owls on Tatooine, where they’re hiding from the Empire. It’s been a long time since the two have seen each other. And now, after order 66 and the Great Purge, they have shared pain, and very few allies left.
Relationships: Bo-Katan Kryze/Ahsoka Tano
Series: The Weight of Mandalore [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2201613
Kudos: 16





	Ghosts

In the end, Ahsoka traveled alone. She left Sabine Wren, opting to board ship after ship in exchange for credits or favours, continuing her search for Ezra Bridger by herself. She didn’t want to let anything distract her. Or anyone. Ahsoka was afraid of becoming attached to Sabine more than she already was. Nearly everyone Ahsoka loved had died. She didn’t want the same for the Mandalorian.  
It was difficult to stay hidden as a former Jedi with the Empire holding the galaxy in it’s grip, but Ahsoka managed with only a few close calls. As long as she kept her sabers hidden until she needed them, she was safe. Or at least as safe as one could be, in those times. Every day she heard of new atrocities committed by the Empire. Ahsoka knew who was behind each one of them. She tried not to think about him too much, because when she did, the guilt crept in. She didn’t know where the guilt came from. But somewhere in the back of her head, something told her ‘you could have saved him’. Every time she heard of a new planet or city or ship destroyed by Vader, Ahsoka died a bit inside.  
She was on Naboo when she heard about the Great Purge. She was following a vague lead, which she sensed would eventually fade away, as most of her leads did. But she had nothing else to go on, so Naboo it was. She sat at a small, dingy bar, covered by a brown cloak, sabers strapped safely to her belt, and a questionable drink in her hand. The atmosphere was quiet, with a few voices from pairs talking in hushed voices at tables on the edge of the room. The clatter of dishes came from the kitchen accompanied by the slightly sour smell of less-than-fresh food. It wasn’t ideal, but Ahsoka wasn’t likely to be recognized here. In the corner, a few Naboo were watching the HoloNet. She could sense the tension in the room, directed at the flickering blue hologram in the corner, so she glanced over. It was a planet, large and unassuming, surrounded by Imperial ships. They fired blasts at the surface and sent shuttles down as well, peppering the planet with fire and clouds of dust. She squinted at the hologram, trying to figure out which planet this was, what poor people her former master had decided to slaughter this time. And then, a small ship flew into frame, just for a brief moment. She recognized the build, and all of a sudden, the planet was familiar. Ahsoka’s eyes didn’t leave the HoloNet. She watched the planet burn.  
“That’s it for the Mandalorians, then,” said the bartender. “Never thought I’d see the day.”  
Ahsoka glanced over at her, still stunned. “Are there any survivors?”  
The bartender raised an eyebrow at her, then glanced at the HoloNet. “After that onslaught? You remember the Jedi? When the Empire wants someone gone, they make sure that every last one is dead.”  
Her sabers suddenly felt heavy against her hips. Was she the only one left? She wans’t even a Jedi. Once again, Ahsoka felt very, very alone. Now, even those she knew from Mandalore were dead. Somewhere out there, Satine was traveling alone, on the same quest as Ahsoka, and was watching her planet burn from the HoloNet. Unless the Empire hadn’t already tracked her down and killed her.  
Ahsoka threw back her drink, putting the empty mug and some credits on the counter. She got up.  
“Thanks for the drink,” she said before turning to look one last time at the HoloNet. Whoever was piloting the small Mandalorian ship that she saw was long gone by now. Ahsoka looked away, walking out of the bar and towards the ship port.  
She felt as if the galaxy she knew before had died, or crumbled away, revealing a harsh, bitter one underneath. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t picture Anakin making an order like that. The Skyguy she knew would never. Anakin wouldn’t destroy planets, massacre thousands. Anakin was dead.  
Overwhelmed by a renewed sense of hopelessness, Ahsoka abandoned her lead. She knew it would get nowhere, so what was the use trying? Ahsoka looked for a ship off-planet. 

A week later, Ahsoka had made her way to Tatooine, hoping to gain council with Jaba The Hutt, who’s vast trade routes might gain her some information on Ezra or Thrawn’s whereabouts. She had been there for around a day, trading what few things she had collected on other planets for credits and accommodation. Sitting on a small stone stool at the window of the tiny room she had been afforded, Ahsoka gazed out the window towards the home of Jaba The Hutt, trying to sense him inside. What kind of mood he was in. She wanted to strike at the ideal moment, when he was feeling generous and pleasant enough to give her what she needed.  
Then, something caught her attention, out of the corner of her eye. Down on the street, three figures walked. They wore grey cloaks, and kept their heads down, but just for a moment, Ahsoka caught a glint of metal. She stared down at the figures with such intensity that one of them looked up at her. The figure’s intense green eyes widened as they lay on Ahsoka far above. The figure stopped, the other two stopping with it. Two pale hands, wrists wrapped in blue-painted beskar, reached from under the cloak and pulled off the hood, revealing red hair and a beskar headband. Bo-Katan Kryze stared up at Ahsoka, looking as if she had seen a ghost. 

The Mandalorian was at Ahsoka’s door within two minutes. She waited there, eyes fixed at the stairs as Bo-Katan’s footsteps proceeded her arrival. Bo-Katan had instructed the other two Mandalorian’s to wait at a nearby bar. She wanted to do this alone. Ahsoka’s breath was bated. How could she be alive? Ahsoka was sure that she would never see a Mandalorian again. Bo-Katan reached the top of the stairs and entered the room, a hand reaching from under her cloak to grab Ahsoka by the shoulder. She stared at her.  
“How are you alive?” She demanded. “The Jedi are dead. You’re not supposed to be alive!”  
Ahsoka didn’t know what to say. She was still stunned by the sudden appearance of Bo-Katan, and how... okay she seemed to be. Not burned to a crisp like Ahsoka assumed the Mandalorians were. In a moment of pure impulse, Ahsoka threw her arms around Bo, hugging her tightly. Bo was thrown off for a second, shocked, then pushed Ahsoka away.  
“Answer me!” She said.  
“You’re the one that’s supposed to be dead!” Ahsoka said, wrapping her arms around herself. “I saw the HoloNet on the day it happened- the Empire wiped you all out!” ”I managed to escape,” said Bo, her voice tinged with bitterness. Ahsoka could sense pain there too. But in the special way that pain always seemed to manifest in Bo-Katan: anger. “Now tell me how you’re alive! I heard what happened. You surrounded yourself constantly with those clones. How. Are. You. Alive?”  
Ahsoka grappled for words. She couldn’t say it out loud. She hadn’t said it out loud in so long. She sputtered for a few moments before letting out a small, shaky sigh. “I don’t know.” She killed her brothers. She was no better than the Empire. An involuntary sob escaped her, and she quickly turned away from Bo-Katan.  
Bo was stunned for a moment. She didn’t know what to do. “Hey- hey, stop that. That was a long time ago.”  
Ahsoka wiped the tears out of her eyes, composed herself, then turned back around to face Bo, shooting a small glare her direction. “You haven’t changed, I see.”  
“Stop that, Tano,” Bo said, scowling. “Now tell me what you’re doing here. Now that your Jedi friends are dead.”  
“I’m looking for a ‘Jedi friend’,” Ahsoka said. “His name is Ezra Bridger. What are you doing here?”  
“Laying low, for now,” Bo said, circling the table to the window, glancing down at her two Mandalorian companions at the bar across the street. “The Empire has put quite the hefty bounty on any Mandalorian that’s turned in. Preferably dead. When I escaped the Purge, I took two of my Nite Owls with me. Koska and Axe. We must survive. And for now, that means hiding on iaandur planets like this.”  
“Bo-“ “Don’t call me that,” Bo’s voice was low, steady, a tone that Ahsoka had come to recognize as carefully controlled anger.  
“Bo-Katan, then,” said Ahsoka. “What happened to your family? Did they escape?” ”Everyone is dead,” said Bo, looking Ahsoka directly in the eye. “A branch of the Death Watch formed a cult, which left Mandalore to go hide in the shadows, but everyone else is dead,” she took a threatening step towards Ahsoka. “Do you know why they killed us so quickly? Because the Mandalorian-Jedi wars weakened our planet to the extent that we were condensed in our domed cities, huge, flashing, silver targets on the surface of a planet covered in white sand. There were no rural towns. No farming villages. Their work was easy. They just had to hit the silver dots. That’s why my people are dead. That’s why I am the last of my line. Because of the Jedi!”  
Ahsoka didn’t know what to say. She could sense the pain in Bo-Katan. And Bo’s words betrayed her emotions, the pain spilling out through the anger. “Bo-Katan,” Ahsoka didn’t put her hands on Bo’s shoulders, like her instincts wanted her to. She didn’t want broken arms. “That was a long, long time ago. The Empire did this. I’m not a Jedi. I’m not Imperial. I’m your friend.”  
Bo faltered for a moment, then smirked. “You’re my friend?”  
“We parted on good terms, remember?” Asked Ahsoka. “You don’t have to be angry at me. I didn’t do this to you,” she sighed. “I lost my family too. I understand! We’re both alone.”  
Bo looked away. She spent a few moments in silence, her face, this time, betraying her emotions. She squeezed her eyes shut, fists clenched tightly at her sides under her robe.  
“You haven’t had time to process this yet,” Ahsoka realized. “You’ve spent all your time around those Nite Owls, you-“  
“Shut up!” Snapped Bo. “Shut up! I’m fine!”  
Ahsoka put her hands up defensively, waiting for Bo to lash out physically, then, when that didn’t happen, took a careful step towards her, reaching out and placing a gentle hand on the Mandalorian’s shoulder. She could feel the cold, hard beskar under the robe.  
“Bo-Katan, it’s okay if-“  
Shots rang out from outside, followed by several shouts and the sound of a body hitting the ground.  
“Imp jurkadi!” Shouted Bo’s male Nite Owl from below.  
Bo cursed under her breath. “Imperials,” she drew her blaster. “Come on.” She brushed Ahsoka’s hand off of her shoulder and made for the door. 

Outside, Koska and Axe had taken out two stormtroopers, who lay on the ground, motionless. Locals were already rushing inside of their squat beige homes to hide, only a few positioned at the windows with weapons. Ahsoka knew that not many people had the guts to oppose the empire those days. She wondered what had brought the stormtroopers to Tatooine.  
Bo-Katan exited the building with Ahsoka at her heels. She glanced at the dead troopers, then looked expectantly at her Nite Owls.  
“Three ships landed just south of here,” Koska said, adjusting her vambrace under her robe. “Around fifty troopers per transport.”  
“We can’t take them alone,” said Bo, pulling her hood over her head and drawing a blaster. “We need to get back to the ship. Koska, Axe, you remember Ahsoka Tano?”  
Axe looked at Ahsoka with mild disbelief. “A jetti? Aren’t you all dead?”  
“Some of us survived,” said Ahsoka.  
“I’m sure there’s a hefty bounty on your head,” Koska circled around Ahsoka, sizing her up. She glanced at Bo-Katan. “Something that could fetch us a much better ship.”  
“Ahsoka is coming with us,” said Bo. “But we aren’t turning her in. We owe her a debut for her help with Maul. She isn’t safe as long as the Empire is here. And if stormtroopers were trying to get into the building, that means that they saw her in there with me. They will be targeting her as well. Now come on. Let’s get to the ship before the rest of the imps arrive.”  
Bo-Katan turned, briskly walking up the dusty street towards the place where the three had landed their ship. Ahsoka, glancing back at the Imperial transport ships one last time, hurried to catch up. She kept a hand resting lightly on a lightsaber. She caught up to the trio, standing as far from Koska as possible. She nudged Axe with an elbow.  
“So all of these ships are here for you three?”  
“The Empire is terrified of us,” he said with a grin. “Three Mandalorians can do more damage than a battalion of stormtroopers could ever hope to do. They want us dead, Jedi. Just like you.”  
“They’re really that afraid of you?” Ahsoka didn’t blame them. She knew what a Mandalorian could do. But she also knew that she could best one. Was the Empire really that pathetic?  
They turned down an alleyway, leading them to the outskirts of the town where a small, battered, and heavily painted Mandalorian shuttle sat. The ramp lowered as the Nite Owls and Ahsoka aproached, and Bo-Katan quickly walked up it. The four got into the ship, the ramp closing behind them, and Bo sat at the controls, switching on the ship. Ahsoka put a hand on her shoulder.  
“Bo. Wait.”  
Bo didn’t look back at her. “Call me Bo again and I’m leaving you on Tatooine, Jedi.”  
“This is where I need to be!” Ahsoka insisted. “I’m looking for my friend, I need the help of Jaba The Hutt. I’m sorry, I can’t come with you.”  
Bo turned around in her seat, fixing Ahsoka with a look that she couldn’t quite decipher. “Those stormtroopers are going to be checking every bar, every house, and yes, every fortress for the three of us. If they find a Jedi while they’re here, they won’t hesitate to kill you. It would be quite the notch on their belts. Either stay on Tatooine and get killed, or stay on this ship and let me drop you off wherever you want to be. Which is it?”  
Ahsoka hesitated, looking through the shuttle’s windows at the streets of Tatooine. The occasional trooper passed, blaster drawn. She knew she could fend for herself, but she wasn’t sure if she could handle that many...  
“We need to take off now,” said Koska.  
“What will it be?” Bo asked, eyes still fixed on Ahsoka.  
“I’m staying,” she said. “Let’s go.”  
“That’s what I thought,” Bo turned back to the controls. “Hold on, Jedi. This ship has seen much better days.”

The shuttle moved slowly through space, hidden from scanners by what cloaking technology it had. The hyperdrive had been damaged during their escape from Mandalore, so there was only one way to travel. Koska and Axe sat at the controls while Ahsoka and Bo sat in the back. Bo had taken her cloak off, revealing her armour, much more dented and faded than it had been the last time Ahsoka saw it. And now, out of the action, Bo-Katan herself looked more worn as well. There was a tiredness in her eyes, and her confidence had faded, just a bit. She sat stretched out on two crates, leaning on the wall behind her and staring at the one in front of her. The low rattle and hum of the ship filled the silence. Ahsoka cleared her throat.  
“How long has it been?” She asked carefully.  
Bo glanced over at her. “What do you mean?” ”Since...” she was almost afraid to say it. “You know. Mandalore.”  
Bo looked back at the wall, sighing. “I don’t know. A week? Longer? I lost track of time,” She looked down at her hands. “We’ve been jumping from planet to planet, picking up fuel and supplies, jobs, where we can. Mostly in the outer rim. We’re laying low until the Empire stops looking for us.”  
“And then what?” Ahsoka asked.  
“Then we rebuild.” There was a firmness, a certainty to Bo’s tone. As if she didn’t realize how huge that task would be.  
Ahsoka nodded, carefully. She didn’t want to tell Bo-Katan that that idea was ridiculous. That three Mandalorians alone couldn’t resurrect an empire. But she didn’t want to aggravate the woman.  
“Did anyone else survive?” She asked. “Your nephew? What was his name? Korkie...?” She trailed off as Bo turned her face away. “I’m sorry.”  
Bo took a breath, composing herself, then looked forwards again. “There are others. A cult. But these are the only Nite Owls left. I’m not sure if any New Mandalorians survived. I know Korkie didn’t. I saw.”  
Ahsoka nodded, looking at her feet. She didn’t quite know what to say.  
“So you’re the last of your kind too, just be lucky you didn’t have to see them die in front of you,” Bo almost spat those words. There was so much anger there, so much unresolved pain.  
Ahsoka looked up at her, then. “I killed my friends,” she said, quietly. “The clones. They attacked me. I had to. I wasn’t even given the chance to save them. Any of them. The clones or the Jedi.”  
Bo looked over at her, then, a tiny bit of softness creeping into her expression. She sighed, sitting up straighter. Her expression became alarmed as she saw Ahsoka’s shoulders begin to shake.  
“Come on, not again...”  
“Sorry-“ Ahsoka wiped the tears off of her face, but they just kept coming. She curled up, wrapping her arms around her legs and letting the sobs come. She hadn’t had time to cry. Hitching rides on the ships of strangers had given her little to no time to herself. Now, in the small cargo bay of an old Mandalorian ship, sitting across from someone she at least sort of respected, Ahsoka found that the tears came easily. So she sobbed freely, forhead resting on her knees, letting the tears come and fall down her cheeks as they pleased.  
She felt a hand on her shoulder as Bo-Katan sat down beside her and she looked up, eyes red, still gulping back sobs.  
“You’re not alone,” said Bo. “You fought well beside us, and so you are an ally to the Mandalorians. To me.” She reached out and took Ahsoka’s hand, gripping it tightly. She pressed a small communicator into it. “Keep this with you. As long as you have it, I am beside you. I will come when you need me if you come when I need you. Okay?”  
Ahsoka stared down at the communicator in disbelief, then up at Bo-Katan.  
“Why?” She asked.  
“Because years ago, we came together against a common enemy,” said Bo. “The same is true now.”  
Ahsoka nodded, tucking the communicator into the fold of her robes. She gave Bo-Katan a weak smile. “You can cry too, you know. There’s nothing wrong with crying.”  
Bo shook her head quickly. “I don’t need to. I’ve moved past it.”  
“You keep saying that, but-“  
“That’s the end of it, Ahsoka.”  
Ahsoka saw that she wasn’t going to get anywhere with that line of questioning, not today at least. So she moved on. “Thanks, then,” she said. “It’s good to know there’s at least someone out there who cares about me.”  
Despite her resistance to Ahsoka’s concern, Bo couldn’t help but feel comforted by it. Which was highly unusual. Bo hadn’t accepted concern or comfort since she joined the Death Watch, leaving her family behind. Now, with her family gone, and only her Nite Owls remaining, Bo hadn’t allowed herself to feel weakness of any sort. Koska and Axe had to see her as strong, unflappable.  
But just the knowledge that Ahsoka cared was enough to bring the littlest bit of softness back into Bo’s heart, still hardened by the sight of her planet and people in flames. Even though she wasn’t ready to show it yet, Bo was grateful. It was good, knowing that there was someone who cared. And she couldn’t have asked for a better person.  
Bo-Katan and Ahsoka sat in silence, side by side, as the shuttle took them deeper into space. Light years away, Mandalore still smouldered, holding part of Bo’s heart among it’s ashes. But for now, the rest was safe on a shuttle, guarded by Ahsoka. And Bo wouldn’t want it any other way. 


End file.
